Family – McClay Senior Care

by McCayAdmin

Mar 2017 17

How family caregivers can benefit from respite care

What is Respite Care?

Respite care is a type of assistance that allows the family caregiver to take a break from care-giving. This type of care focuses on helping family caregivers recharge, ease their stress, and avoid caregiver burnout. Rather than spending time attending to daily duties, respite care provides assistance and support to the family caregiver. Keeping the caregiver healthy and supported results in higher quality time spent together. The longer a family member can provide appropriate care, the longer the loved one is able to stay comfortably at home.

Role of a Family Caregiver

The role of a family caregiver can be an honor and a privilege. Some caregivers acknowledge they enjoy having the opportunity to “repay” their parent by caring for them. Caring for a loved one can be a rewarding experience, but intense or long-term care can often have a negative impact on the caregiver’s health and well-being. This is especially difficult if you are a first-time family caregiver.These individuals often struggle with balancing their role as a caregiver with their own family’s needs, or caregiving and paid employment. This often leads to a situation where the caregiver feels overwhelmed and confused about what steps to take next in their caregiving journey combined with the effects of anticipatory grief, and may put the family caregiver at risk of:

Psychological effects such as depression, anxiety, and anger
Health related issues resulting from chronic stress, lack of sleep and/or physical exercise
Personal financial problems
Negative career consequences
Drug/alcohol abuse
Elderly abuse

In order to prevent the risks mentioned above, you should consider respite if you’re a caregiver.

Types of Respite Care

Respite care can be provided at home or in a long-term care facility. Care can be provided by friends, neighbors, family members, volunteers, or a home health care service provider.

Some examples of respite care services include:

Personal Care
Companionship
Meal Preparation
Medication Reminder
Light Housekeeping
Nursing

Respite care also benefits the person receiving care in the following ways:

Developing and nurturing the care recipient’s social, recreational and life skills;
Reducing stress and improving long-term functioning of both caregivers and care recipients;
Preventing crisis situations and elder abuse.

Respite Resources are Available and Necessary for Family Caregivers

If you are a family caregiver, find some time this summer to focus on you. You deserve an extra hand or some time to take care of yourself. Nano Home Care offers respite care and home health services that are individualized and designed especially for you. Contact us about home care services at 01 800 688 8688.

by McCayAdmin

Mar 2017 14

When to hire senior home care services

Family

There is often a lot of resistance and hesitation when it comes to hiring senior home care services. Many people don’t like admitting that they need help with daily activities, and family members don’t always know how to broach the subject. Unfortunately, this means that a senior relative can go years without assistance, since it can be several years from first witnessing the need to acquiring aid. This can become burdensome for people in the family, who are not always well equipped to handle such needs and may not have the time to devote to home care. It’s important to be able to notice and acknowledge when it’s time to hire senior home care services.

Noticing the Signs

Loved ones might notice that there are missed doctor’s appointments or that medications are left untaken. You may have observed failing hygiene, household chores left undone, or house pets or plants that aren’t tended to as well as they should be. All of these can be initial indicators that home care assistance could be beneficial. More severe signs may be distracted driving, difficulty remembering names, dates, or addresses, or that already present safety and health concerns become more acute.

Although discussing home health care might be uncomfortable or embarrassing, such assistance can help encourage a greater sense of independence, aid with transportation and mobility, and can help to ensure that health care needs are met promptly and with appropriate attentiveness and urgency. A single awkward conversation can be the first step to getting your loved one the help they need.

Full or part-time services are often all that are necessary. Staffing agencies can often be the easiest approach, since they locate the caregivers, handle payroll taxes, and perform all administrative work and conduct background checks. This is a relatively easy way to find qualified and verified home health care professionals. Another option is that you would hire a nurse or other caregiver directly. This would place the burden of performing the background check, as well as verifying references and credentials, on you. You would also be responsible for payroll taxes, Social Security withholding, etc., which can often seem a bit overwhelming. However, it’s possible that it could also save you money. It will ultimately be up to you to decide what’s best and to ensure that your loved one’s needs are met.

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